Help with Rome on your own

[FL LuluBelle]

I am looking for suggestions for doing Rome on our own. I am trying to decide if I should do a group tour or go for it on our own and not be rushed. The Vatican is not a must see on this trip. Any info will appreciated. Thank you.

[MeHeartCruising]

This board is filled with information about doing Rome on your own, so look thru the listings and start reading. In short, it's quite easy to get off your ship, take the port shuttle bus to the port entrance, and then walk 10-15 minutes to the train station where you can buy a 9 euro travel pass that gets you into Rome (and is also good on the Rome subway all day). Scores (and maybe hundreds) of passengers will be doing this very thing on your ship. It's all about researching the train times and train stops so that you know where to get on and off and more importantly WHEN to catch the train to return to port in time for your ship's departure.

[fourgadawgs]

This is a great website I found on these boards full of helpful tips, go to it and look at both the review on Rome and the Port Info on it. We leave next week and will be doing Rome on our own thanks to this couples helpful advice that they took the time to share. :)

 

www.cruizecast.com

[bobalink]

I am looking for suggestions for doing Rome on our own. I am trying to decide if I should do a group tour or go for it on our own and not be rushed. The Vatican is not a must see on this trip. Any info will appreciated. Thank you.

 

Lots of folks on these boards can offer some great suggestions if you provide more details.

 

Are you spending time in Rome pre or post cruise? Or will you be in port for one day? A few hours?

 

Are you comfortable using public transportation?

 

Do you have a budget? Group private tours can be expensive.

One reputable tour company you could consider is Romeinlimo.

Website: http://www.romeinlimo.com/

 

Do you or anyone you are traveling with have any mobility concerns?

 

One suggestion for doing Rome on your own is to use the Rick Steves Audio Europe - a FREE app that you can download on your iPod.

Website: http://www.ricksteves.com/ae/ae_menu.htm

[24butterfly]

I am looking for suggestions for doing Rome on our own. I am trying to decide if I should do a group tour or go for it on our own and not be rushed. The Vatican is not a must see on this trip. Any info will appreciated. Thank you.

 

Get a good guide book. I use EyeWitness/Knopf guides or Let's Go is also good. Look thru the book and decide what u want to do. Rome is E-Z to do on your own. EyeWit. guides also offer suggestions on places to eat, but wherever we are is where we eat. Never had a bad meal in Rome; but just remember--the better restaurants are closed on a Sunday night......

[Keith1010]

I am looking for suggestions for doing Rome on our own. I am trying to decide if I should do a group tour or go for it on our own and not be rushed. The Vatican is not a must see on this trip. Any info will appreciated. Thank you.

 

I am not sure how long you have in Rome.

 

You are correct, the Vatican Museum and the Sistine Chapel are must sees. Having done this both ways, I would highly recommend taking an organized tour whether it is a private or a small group tour. I don't care how much you research on your own, there is no question that you will get so much more from this on a tour. The reality is the Vatican museum has as much are work as the Louvre in Paris. It can be overwhelming. To me you will make much more efficient use of your time with a tour and you will walk away with much more knowledge than you began with. The guide will know the key areas for you to visit and to see and a good guide will give you some solid history on the art and you will really learn items that you will likely not forget.

 

I would also visit the Roman Colosseum and the Ancient City.

 

Keith

[hubofhockey]

I am looking for suggestions for doing Rome on our own. I am trying to decide if I should do a group tour or go for it on our own and not be rushed. The Vatican is not a must see on this trip. Any info will appreciated. Thank you.

 

Rome is very easy to do on your own. You can even combine a real walking tour of Ancient Rome of Ancient Rome (Forums, Temples, Colisseum, etc) with a day on your own and get to skip the lines at the Colisseum. While a large number of people on these Med discussion boards still seem to go with pushing everyone to Rome in Limo, it is great to see more discussions about the companies that provide walking tours. If you do walking tours and even walk to get to those tours and then walk around Rome (with an occasional taxi or metro ride) you will get a much better feel for Rome than you will from a Mercedez van and you will save a good chunk of change as well.

[hkto]

Rome "must sees" for the first time visitor are well documented in this forum and all sort of guide books. Some sites are free, some need tickets, Depending on individual interests I would suggest to decide on what to visit to advance; locate them on the map and create a plan for a day considering time constraints. Buy BIRG ticket from the tobacco shop in Civitavecchia station; it'll get your train + all public transit in Rome. Print out metro and bus route maps in advance.

 

Depending on train i'll take about 1.5 to 2 hrs to reach central Rome from dock in Civitavecchia (port shuttle + walk to train station + wait for train + train ride). So time in Rome may be 6 to 7 hrs max. A big site like Vatican Museums and St.Peters may take 2-3 hrs at least. Colosseum & Forum take at least 1 hr if visitors buy a ticket and go inside; less if viewed from outside. Trevi and Pantheon - less time.

[cruisemom42]

I am looking for suggestions for doing Rome on our own. I am trying to decide if I should do a group tour or go for it on our own and not be rushed. The Vatican is not a must see on this trip. Any info will appreciated. Thank you.

 

Since you are willing to set aside the Vatican for this trip (which is wise, as there is so much to see there), I would propose a schedule something like the following.

 

Get up and get going as early as you can. Take the FREE Port Shuttle from your ship to the port gate and walk to the rail station (many posts here with detailed directions).

 

Purchase a BIRG pass, which includes your round-trip train fare to Rome as well as free transportation on buses/metro in Rome for the day.

 

Take the next available train to Rome. You can check train schedules here: http://www.trenitalia.com (English available).

 

Get off the train at OSTIENSE station. Follow signs to the Metro (adjacent to train station), the metro station name is PYRAMIDE. Take the next metro train headed in the direction of REBIBBIA. (Print out a metro map before you go, there are many online.) There are also maps on the walls in the stations.

 

Take the metro 2 stops to COLOSSEO station. Exit and right in front of you will be the Colosseum. Cross the street and walk towards the large Arch of Constantine beside the Colosseum. As you do so, check to see how long the line is at the Colosseum ticket counter. If it looks very long, keep walking toward and past the Arch, keeping the metro station behind you. You'll see a small road in front of you. Walk to it and in a block or so you will find, on the right, the Palatine Hill ticket office where you can buy your ticket for the Colosseum, Forum, and Palatine Hill (it's a combo ticket, and you cannot purchase them individually).

 

Now you have your ticket. Enter the Colosseum and enjoy. Rick Steves has a free, downloadable podcast tour of the Colosseum, or just bring a guidebook. After seeing the Colosseum, if you are interested in Roman history I would also recommend seeing the Forum. (Right next door.) And if you're REALLY interested in Roman history, you should also see Palatine Hill, the entrance to which you already visited to get tickets. One plus to visiting Palatine Hill is that you do get great views over both the Forum on one side, and the Circus Maximus on the other. Rick Steves may have podcasts of the Forum and Palatine Hill also, I can't recall.

 

When you are finished with this area, find the large street again that you crossed from the Metro to get to the Colosseum. This is Via Fori dei Imperiali.

 

Walk up this street several blocks and you will arrive in the busy Piazza Venezia, where you can have a look at the Vittorio Emanuele monument (often called the "wedding cake").

 

From here, you have several choices as to how to arrange your day. A good map is essential. If you are concerned about the trains being crowded at the end of the day (i.e., if there are a lot of other ships in port), I would perhaps suggest the following -- walk from Piazza Venezia to Piazza Navona (for the fountains, people-watching, perhaps lunch), then walk to the Pantheon and go inside this wonderful building, the most complete one from antiquity. The Pantheon area is also a great place to have lunch.

 

After this, I'd suggest walking to Trevi Fountain, where you must toss your coin to ensure a return to Rome. From here, you can take the Metro (BARBERINI stop) to Termini to catch the train back to Civitavecchia. Be aware that the tracks for the train to Civi are quite a distance from the station entrance, so allow enough time to get there and make your train.

 

If you have time (and the energy!), you can continue walking to the Spanish steps. There is also a Metro stop right at the base of the steps (SPAGNA stop) that you can take to Termini.

 

Good luck; half the fun is in the planning!

[FL LuluBelle]

Thank you for all your suggestions. I guess I was to vague when I posted. Did a lot of research on the train this morning!

I do have more specific questions ~~on foot how far is the distance between the Colosseum & Trevi Fountain, OR the Colosseum and Piazza Navona AND Piazza Navona and the Pantheon?

And are taxi's easy to get ~ read that they weren't?? Where is the best place to get a taxi if I were to go to the Vatican? Approximate cost??

Thank you again for the tips.

[euro cruiser]

On foot:

 

Colosseum - Trevi Fountain is just under a mile

 

Trevi - Pantheon is just under a half mile

 

Pantheon - Piazza Navona is two tenths of a mile.

 

Taxis are not hard to get in Rome, but you do not hail them on the street the way you do in the States. Taxis wait at designated stands or are called to come to a specific location.

 

There is a taxi stand in front of the metro station at the Colosseum and another at the Pantheon (on the right side as you are facing the entrance). Taxis are also easily found at Piazza San Pietro (in front of St. Peter's basilica) and at Piazza Navona.

[hubofhockey]

Thank you for all your suggestions. I guess I was to vague when I posted. Did a lot of research on the train this morning!

I do have more specific questions ~~on foot how far is the distance between the Colosseum & Trevi Fountain, OR the Colosseum and Piazza Navona AND Piazza Navona and the Pantheon?

And are taxi's easy to get ~ read that they weren't?? Where is the best place to get a taxi if I were to go to the Vatican? Approximate cost??

Thank you again for the tips.

 

There are taxis in back of the Colosseum. I think it was a €7 to €8 ride to Piazza Navona. We didn't feel like waiting for a bus (and there were four of us) and the taxi made sense. We had lunch off the side streets near Piazza Navona. There are a bunch of decent and cheaper restaurant past the Blue Ice gelato store (forgot the name of the side street). From there, we walked to Pantheon and then to Trevi Fountain, and finally to Spanish Steps where we took a taxi back to the train station.

[Hollywood Traveler]

Wow, Cruisemom42. Once again great information. We'll be doing Rome on our own in a little over two weeks. Your advice here, and on other Med ports, have really helped us in our planning.

Thanks,

Larry

[KayAnnie]

This is a great website I found on these boards full of helpful tips, go to it and look at both the review on Rome and the Port Info on it. We leave next week and will be doing Rome on our own thanks to this couples helpful advice that they took the time to share. :)

 

www.cruizecast.com

 

Thanks for the kind words! Please contact us when you get back. We'd love to hear about the Epic!

[user43147]

Wow! Cruisemom42; You have got it down. Thank you so much!!!!

[wcook]

There are many options. We took care of tranportation on our own, but hired a private guide in Rome. Worked great. We didn't need any help getting to Rome, but loved having the guide to really bring the ruins to life.

[knot knormal]

Wow, Cruisemom42, great information!

[CathyCruises]

I will just add that Cruisemom has outlined what to me is a perfect port stop/first time in Rome itinerary. All very doable as long as you do get off the ship as quickly as you can. We normally head back to the ship about 3:30-4:00 to allow a nice cushion.

 

I know it sounds a bit complicated but it really is not--if you download the podcasts and arm yourself with a good map, you can get a good flavor of Rome and believe me, it will leave you itching to go back!